Bon Voyage!

A big shout out to Matt and Tobyn who are on their way to Ethiopia to pick up Ellie's new playmate (and future prom date?), the handsome Cal! Here's wishing the Ribs a smooth trip and a happy week with Cal in Addis! We can't wait to meet him!

Countdown to Preschool

So much good stuff has happened since the last post - I guess that's a handy side effect of posting once in a blue moon. The kid starts preschool tomorrow, and it's just starting to hit me that I'm not sure I'm prepared for this. I was just getting used to being her constant entertainer/observer. I told a couple of people that we'd entered the phase where nothing in her world exists or can be enjoyed without my witnessing it. I am compensating by making name labels for everything she might be taking into the building with her. Sublimating anxiety with a label maker - classic Heather!

Recent Achievements

Medical: We went to the pediatrician for a well baby check-up and the doc mistook her for a pincushion and gave her 5 shots. Apparently we only have Ethiopian documentation of one of three rounds of vaccinations so we'll be back again at the end of the month for another 4-5 shots. Although hysterical during the process, she rallied quickly and had stopped crying by the time we got to the front desk to check out. Needless to say the toy doctor's kit was a big hit that evening, and all of her stuffed animals and babies have been thoroughly examined and received clean bills of health, and lots of shots.

Language: So much progress has been made so quickly I can't just list new words - she's started learning them in phrases instead of single words. Favorite new sayings - "Ellie do/did it", "I don't know" (said with a Paula Deen-esque accent, along with "ay-and" (and) and "hay-am" (ham) which makes me wonder how bad my accent is), "Good Idea!", "Good stretching", "Oh my goodness!", "Bubbie lunch tomorrow", "sninky (stinky) trash". Also, every time she sees a train she shouts "A train, a train, a train, a train!" which I attribute to repeated readings of Green Eggs and Ham.

Food: New faves include Spaghetti-O's (don't get your hand too close to the bowl while she's eating or you'll pull back a stump), red grapes, applesauce, salsa, and goat cheese (I'm prepping her for membership in The Finer Things Club.)

Fun: That anxiety about playgrounds she had before - yeah, that's a thing of the past. We went to the fantastic park near our house she owned the bouncy bridge and swing. There are still some mountains to climb - apparently she and mom went to two parks when she spent the day at their house last weekend - the first one Ellie nixed before she was even out of the carseat with a finger shake and a verdict of "too big" about the slides.

Music: This week she's especially enjoyed the music of The Supremes, The Beatles, Kings of Leon, Vampire Weekend, Little Joy and The Cure. As I type this she's eating applesauce and rocking out to Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom" (and learning the lesson that sometimes rocking out is messy.) I wonder how long I can keep her from finding out about The Wiggles?

Attitude: Are three year olds supposed to be this well-behaved and non-defiant? I don't think they are, so I'm wondering if she's just repressing all of her authority-questioning to unleash in her teen years? Since the first couple weeks there have been no major tantrums or meltdowns that I thought were expected at this age. I may jinx myself by writing this, but that might not be bad - like when your mom used to make you play with the kid who had chicken pox so you'd go ahead and get sick and get it over with. By the way, the chicken pox is now something they vaccinate against, which makes me again appreciate the hardiness of my generation.

More pics later once I find my AWOL camera cord: